Greens slam Surrey Conservatives’ budget cuts and secrecy

Commenting on the Conservative budget that was passed by Surrey County Council today, Cllr Jonathan Essex, Green County Councillor for Redhill East, said:

“Today’s budget debate was a sham, with the Conservatives choosing to suddenly drop their proposal for an unaffordable and unfair council tax rise of 15%. But no new money was announced, so perhaps they are just crossing their fingers and hoping that their Conservative colleagues in government will recommit to properly funding councils in the next few weeks. In the mean time, Conservatives have given themselves permission to make up to £123 million of cuts to council services.

“Tory councillors have failed to share their plans for £93 million secret cuts. Failing to share any details as to which services will be affected is an appalling dereliction of their duty to act on behalf of the residents who elected us. Plus this budget still has a £30 million black hole – still completely undefined, which needs to be filled.

“The Conservative Government needs to come forward with additional money to properly fund vital council services across the country, which will also mean that Surrey’s finances are sustainable in the long-term. We can then shift from an agenda of austerity and secret council cuts to local government being freed to focus instead on improving quality of life for all of our residents.”